Winter Night
by MMJade
Summary: Mara Jade Skywalker is missing her husband. One-shot written during the frigid cold we had this winter.


_**Winter Night**_

_**RATING: **_PG-13

_**SUMMARY: **_Newlywed Mara Jade Skywalker is missing her husband, who has been gone on a mission for far too long. One-shot, written to distract myself partly from the frigid weather, and partly from the writer's block I'm having with my novel.

_**DISCLAIMERS: **_I don't own it, Disney does, whether they want it or not. Characters created by Lucas & Zahn. No money is being made.

_**Coruscant.**_

Mara Jade Skywalker sighed heavily as she entered the silence of her apartment. She had avoided coming home as long as possible, distracting herself with a much-needed day out with her sister-in-law. But evening had come all too quickly, and Leia had her husband and children to get home to. Unlike Mara.

She sighed again and slid her satchel off her shoulder, letting it drop carelessly to the floor in the entryway. Kicking off her boots, she shivered as her feet made contact with the cold tile and wished she had thought to leave the heat on along with the small table lamp in the living room. She'd get to the heating unit in a moment; first things first.

Making her way into the office to the communit, Mara was hardly surprised to find that there were no messages. It wasn't unexpected, and yet she couldn't help the sting of disappointment that spiked through her heart.

"Come on, Farmboy," she pleaded to the empty room, "just one call?" She knew he couldn't contact her without endangering himself, but it had been so long since she had heard his voice. She thought back to their last conversation three months prior.

_"You're going to be gone for _how long_?" she had asked, jaw slack in disbelief._

_ "A few months," her husband repeated, his eyes meeting the floor guiltily. _

_ "Luke, we've only been _married_ a few months," Mara had argued. "How could you have said yes to this? Can't Kam or Corran or someone else do it?"_

_ "They asked for me personally," he explained. "Believe me, I tried to find another way, but this is my job - yours too now. I don't like it any more than you do, sweetheart, but the honeymoon couldn't last forever."_

_ "I know," she had conceded grudgingly. "It doesn't mean I have to be happy about it though."_

She liked it even less once she found out the details of the job. He would be unable to contact her for the duration, and it was uncertain how long the mission itself could take; estimations were as few as two months or as long as six. _Six months! _Never had she gone so long without hearing _something_ about him.

Even before they had married, Mara had kept tabs on Luke Skywalker's whereabouts. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the thought as she padded back to the kitchen. Yes, she had been on the lookout for him for over ten years now; first because she wanted to kill him, and then later because she _didn't_ want him to get himself killed. Though she never would have admitted it to anyone at the time, she had paid careful attention to the comings and goings of the galaxy's most famous Jedi Master. As they had grown closer, she began to sense him more strongly in the Force, and this made tracking him a little easier. But now she didn't even have the luxury of being able to communicate with her husband through their bond. He was on the other side of the galaxy, and so heavily shielding his presence in the Force for his own safety that she could only sense a vague awareness of him in the corner of her mind that he had occupied for so long; just enough to know that he was at least alive. She longed to hear his voice ring through her mind, assuring her that he loved her and missed her.

She frowned sadly and tried to focus instead on the pantry she'd been staring into for the last few minutes. She knew she needed to eat, but nothing sounded appetizing, and she wasn't really all that hungry anyway. "Maybe a cup of caf will do," she muttered, crossing the kitchen to open the cupboard. Her eyes fell on a small tin nestled in the corner, and she smiled as she pulled it down and began preparing the drink, decision made.

Normally Mara didn't really care for hot chocolate, but it was Luke's favorite and she was desperate for anything at all that would make her feel nearer to him. "Who'd have thought, Jade," she said to herself as she stirred the sweet drink, "that you would turn into a doting wife who misses her husband so much that she has conversations with herself alone in her kitchen." Shaking her head, she headed back to the living room.

_Snowing again, _she noted, settling onto the couch in front of the picturesque window that overlooked the busy city. It had been an unusually wet winter on the capitol planet, and while Mara didn't normally mind the snow, they'd gotten so much of it in the past few weeks that she actually almost missed the humid air of their home back on Yavin IV. _I wish Luke was here to see this, _she thought sadly as she raised the warm mug to her lips. _He certainly would've dragged me out into it a time or two by now. _The thought of him playing with his niece and nephews in the snow, blue eyes bright and laughing, was almost enough to bring her to tears.

"Pull yourself together, Mara," she growled, swiping a hand angrily across her eyes and rising quickly from the couch. She had intended to turn on the overhead light to accompany her small table lamp, when her gaze fell upon the large stone fireplace instead. Her mind wandered again.

_"A fireplace?" she had queried, looking up from her reading and arching a skeptical eyebrow at her husband._

_ "Yeah!" he nodded excitedly, barely able to contain his glee. "Wait till you see it, Mara, it's beautiful. I've always wanted one! We didn't have much need for them on Tatooine."_

_ Mara frowned. "We won't have much need for one on Coruscant either, will we? We'll hardly be there."_

_ "Sure we'll need it!" he responded, a bit too enthusiastically. "Just think: it'll be perfect for those snowy nights when we're stuck at home. It'll be cold and dark...we can light a fire...maybe make some dinner, have a glass of wine..." He leaned over the back of her chair to nuzzle her ear with his nose. "Maybe the power will go out...we'll only have each other and the fire to keep us warm..."_

_ She laughed and tenderly pushed his head away with one hand. "All right, all right. I see where your dirty mind is headed, Farmboy. If it means that much to you, let's get the apartment with the fireplace."_

Mara smiled at the memory. This was definitely the perfect night for a fire. As usual, Luke had been right. She might even admit it to him when he finally returned home, she missed him that much. And building a fire would be a welcome distraction from her loneliness.

She made quick work of the thing, and it was only when she had fanned the flames to life that she realized that Luke himself hadn't even been able to enjoy it yet. They'd spent so little time on Coruscant in the few months they'd been married, and the weather had still been quite temperate when he'd left. She almost snuffed it out right then, but she had to admit that she enjoyed the warmth and the soft glow that lit the room. _Luke probably wouldn't mind me using it without him, _she assured herself. _That's what we got this apartment for, isn't it?_

Satisfied with that reasoning, she settled back into her spot on the couch to watch the snow, enjoying the soft crackling of the fire and the warmth of the mug in her hands. _If only you were here, Luke, this would be the perfect evening, _she sent out to him through the Force. She knew he wouldn't hear her, but it gave her comfort somehow anyway.

Closing her eyes, Mara envisioned his handsome face. Earnest eyes of the bluest cobalt...wide smile with straight, white teeth...square jaw...broad shoulders...defined torso...abdomen muscled into a chiseled vee...narrow hips, leading down to...

She shivered involuntarily, longing for the heat of her husband's firm body. _If he were here we'd have been making love hours ago, _she thought wryly_. _Of course, by now she was so desperate to just be in the same room with him that just to sit and hold the hands of the man she loved would be more than enough to please her.

Her thoughts drifted once more to the night before his departure, and how upset with him she had been for accepting the mission. A part of her had hoped that if she gave him the cold shoulder and made sure he knew how displeased she was that he was leaving, maybe he wouldn't go. She let out a derisive snort. Of course, in hindsight she realized how immature she had acted. She wished she had made the most of her last night with him instead of letting her petty attitude push him away.

He'd left before dawn the next day. Ever the caring, humble husband he was, he had left her a short and simple note to wake to. A few brief sentences, but they were engraved in Mara's mind:_ "I didn't want to wake you - you looked so beautiful and peaceful. I'll miss you so much, my love. See you soon. I love you."_

How she wished now she would have woken to kiss him goodbye!

She pulled her feet up under her and swirled the remaining contents of her nearly empty mug. Closing her eyes, she sank deeper into the couch and imagined him there with her. She wondered what he was doing right this moment. Was he as lonely as she? Or was he too busy to even have time to think of her? Maybe she could spend some time meditating and find out. Stretching out to the Force, she tried in vain to get some kind of reading, any feeling at all of him, but his presence remained a distant glow in the back of her mind. She concentrated harder, trying with all her might to ignite that dull glow into a familiar flame. Maybe if she could just immerse herself more deeply into the Force, she would at least be able to hear his voice or see what he was doing. Focusing all her energy again, she tried once more.

Nothing.

Frustrated, she opened her eyes and was surprised to find her knuckles white as she gripped her mug, and even more surprised to find that the bulb of her lamp had burned out and all that was left of the fire were mere embers. She set the mug on the table and flexed her aching fingers, glancing outside. It had stopped snowing, and the lights of the city glowed eerily bright in the gray morning sky. _Morning?_ She frowned. _How long was I out?_

She rose from the couch and approached the window, staring unseeingly at the intricate little frost flakes that formed a web across the pane. Her mind felt as foggy as the sky outside as she rubbed at her bleary eyes, fighting tears of frustration. She had been so sure that if she could just connect to the Force on a deeper level, she could get some kind of sense of her husband, but maybe she just wasn't strong enough. She was supposed to be a Jedi, wasn't she?

Mara's head snapped up and suddenly all her senses were on high alert as she felt a tendril of amusement flicker through her mind. She tried to grasp the fleeting feeling, concentrating hard on its origin. It almost felt like...

She whirled around abruptly, just in time to see the front door open to reveal her husband standing in the hallway outside, a tired grin fixed on his face.

Blinking rapidly, she wondered if her sleep-deprived mind was playing tricks on her. His eyes never left hers as he dropped his carryall next to the satchel she had abandoned only a few hours before. "Hi, love," he said softly.

"Luke...!" She rushed to him, throwing her arms around him with such force that he stumbled backward a step as he caught her. "When did you...? How did you...?" She failed to form complete sentences as she inhaled his masculine scent and clutched him tightly.

He laughed roughly as he ran his hands through her hair and down her back, finally grasping her around her slender waist, enjoying the feel of her body against his. "I meant to get home last night, but the snow slowed things down a bit when I entered the planet's atmosphere," he explained. "I got here as soon as I could. I couldn't bear to be away from you for one more day." He laughed again, adding, "And you made it so difficult to make it a surprise with all your Force probing last night!"

She pulled back to look him in the eye. "You were purposely shielding from me?" she asked in disbelief, smacking his chest. "And here I was questioning my ability as a Jedi?!"

"I wanted to surprise you!" he repeated, cutting off her protest abruptly as his lips descended on hers.

All thought abandoned her as he kissed her soundly, enjoying the feel of his mouth moving against hers, the feel of the stubble from his five o'clock shadow scraping against her chin and cheeks. "Mission accomplished, Jedi," she said breathlessly when they finally parted.

He nuzzled her nose and cheek, tucking a loose strand of red hair behind her ear. "Did you miss me?" he whispered, mesmerized by her emerald eyes locked with his.

"More than you know, Farmboy," she breathed, pulling him to the living room with her. "More than you know." She collapsed backwards onto the couch, kissing him hungrily. Their lips never parted as he landed lightly on top of her, his hips settling over hers. "It was...lonely...without you," she murmured between kisses, her fingers already working at the clasp on his tunic as her lips descended down his neck.

Luke groaned at the sensation, closing his eyes and turning his head to allow her access. "Believe me, I know the feeling," he panted. "As long as you're not still" - his breathing hitched as her teeth grazed his collarbone - "mad at me for going." His eyes snapped open as he felt the gentle vibration of her laugh against his throat. Suddenly noticing something, he frowned and pushed up to rest one elbow on the back of the couch. He met her puzzled expression with a quirked eyebrow. "Have you been using the fireplace without me?" he accused.

Mara grinned sheepishly. "If I'd known you would be home today I would've waited for you!" she protested. "I can get it going again if you'd like."

"Later. I'm more interested in the other fire you've started." He pushed his hips against hers for emphasis.

Feigning boredom, she rolled her eyes and put on an aristocratic Coruscanti accent. "Well, I suppose I could cancel my morning meeting, but tea with the Chief of State just _can't_ be postponed again..." She squealed in surprise as he swiftly stood and scooped her up into his arms.

"It can be when the Chief of State is my sister," Luke growled as he started off towards the bedroom, holding her tight against his chest.

Mara laughed and pulled his head back down to hers for another searing kiss. She had no doubt he had called ahead and cleared her schedule for the day. That was fine with her. He could clear it for the week if he wanted, and he'd have no argument from her. "Whatever you say, Master Skywalker," she purred as he kicked the bedroom door shut behind him. "Welcome home."


End file.
